This invention is in the field of decorative and ornamental items to be worn on clothes or displayed on accessories. Embodiments of the invention are more specifically directed to interchangeable items, such as are suitable for affiliation, affinity, or artistic expression by the wearer.
As evident in modern society, many people, including children and adults, enjoy wearing clothes, hats, shoes, and other garments or apparel that bear logos or graphics of athletic teams, schools, celebrities, fictional characters, brands of goods (e.g., automobiles), and other items or institutions with which the wearer has some affinity. These logos and graphics also appear on items other than apparel, such as backpacks, golf bags and other types of bags and luggage, chairs and seat cushions, and countless others. Typically, these logos and graphics are printed or sewn directly onto the item, permanently marking the item in that fashion. To display a different logo or graphic, the customer is thus required to purchase a new item.
It has also been observed, in connection with this invention, that children also enjoy the collecting and trading of various items. In particular, it has been observed that this enjoyment is particularly acute for similar items of differing appearance, especially different graphics. Such items as trading cards, action figures, come to mind as examples of collected and traded items among children. In addition, children also enjoy displaying their affinity with sports teams, entertainers, cartoon characters, and their schools. Of course, the cost of acquiring each new garment or item that is introduced with a different logo or graphic of interest to a child can quickly mount up, especially when coupled with the rate at which children of a certain age outgrow their clothes.
Garments and other items that bear a graphics or logo typically carry a price premium relative to similar items that do not display the graphics or logo, if for no other reason than the additional licensing fee to be paid by the manufacturer.